"This is all my fault, Harry." Ginny sighed, turning deliberately away from him as she used her wand to sweep away decades of greasy dust from the interior of an old cabinet. "You've not said a thing since, er, you know, so I gather you're quite angry."

"Angry?? No, no, no." Harry stretched warily away from corner where he was vanishing mouse droppings and peered into the corridor to make sure they were alone. "I was deathly afraid I'd die laughing in front of Filch and get our detentions doubled!"

"Laughing? Whatever about?"

With one final glance out the door, Harry turned with an ear-to-ear grin. "Didn't you notice? After your little explosion, Warrington, uh... had a wee bit of an accident."

"Accident??" Holding a half-dusted urn, Ginny turned to him with wide eyes.

"You didn't see that wet spot?"

"Wet...? Oh my!" Failing to stifle a hoot of hysterics, Ginny sputtered straight across the urn, raising an eruption of dust.

"What's what?" Wiping away a couple of tears from her eyes with her free hand, Ginny turned her attention to the partially exposed engraving. "St. Jerome's Church, Godr..." Squinting, she extended a finger to wipe away some remnant dirt, and was about to read the last of the name, when-

"Gak!!" Both student felt a sharp tug somewhere in the pits of the stomachs, and the filthy store room swirled away into darkness...

***

Eep! And what happens next, pray tell?

Do let us all know how it all turns out, or kick off your own Portkey misadventure for SIYE's Portkey Challenge (2018-1). Awards will be made for Most Adventuresome, Most Romantic, Best Overall, and People's Choice. Completed stories must be submitted by midnight, March 15, in order for award announcements to be made on April 1.

Please note rules for challenge stories (including some judge-requested modifications): submissions must be stand-alone short stories (may be part of a series, but must contain introduction, climax and resolution all in Challenge entry), and the stories must be marked as complete by deadline. Each submission must be shorter than 20,000 words; R-rated stories are discouraged, and judges are not required to read them.

Readers: we are always looking for new judges, so some additional volunteers are always apreciated! If I don't hear from anyone, I may trying twisting a few arms...

Finally, please use this space to continue casting votes for the 2018-2 challenge topic. Additional suggestions are encouraged but top current choices include:

1. Years into their marriage, Ginny discovers something surprising about Harry. Tell us about it.2. Auntie Muriel announces that she will take her tea at the Burrow next Sunday. Excuses fly as everyone tries to avoid attending. Will anyone escape?3. Tis the Valentines feast at Hogwarts, and something is odd. The pumpkin juice tastes suspiciously good, and all who drink it are behaving strangely. Uh oh.4. A debilitating accident brings Harry's and Ginny's hectic schedules to a screeching halt. How will things change as the couple adjusts to a slow recovery?5. My, how the kids have grown! And didn't you notice how [] was looking at [] yesterday? Oh dear, I'm afraid it's time for... 'the talk'.6. Harry has never been abroad before. His first trip is with Ginny. Where do they go, and why?7. Late at night, a hooded stranger appears at Harry's bed and casts a spell. Another does the same to Ginny. The mysterious pair meets in the Common Room. After a kiss, they whisper, "That’s done. Now, for the great adventure." What happens next?

ghl on 2018.02.04 - 09:04AM ()

Comments

Gin110881 came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.04 - 12:04PM to say:

Oh no, now the poor kids are trapped in the crypt, where generations of Potters are buried. How scary. On the other hand, if they survive, the defeat of Ol' Tom will be a breeze.
Great little drabble, so very much...GHL. Thanks.
No vote, sorry, I've already voted in the other thread, and don't want to cheat here by casting double votes.

My Wicked Quill came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.04 - 10:23PM to say:

I would like to volounteer to judge, how do I go about it?

GHL came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.05 - 06:26AM to say:

Thank you, My Wicked Quill! I have harvested the e-mail address from your account profile and will send you some guidance shortly before March 15. If you prefer to use a different e-mail for challenge correspondence, you can just drop me a note at ghlfiction@aol.com.

GHL came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.05 - 06:41AM to say:

Oh, and thank you Martin! I will share a tiny not-so-secret -- I act far more like a roadside traffic counter than a stolid, straight-laced election scrutineer, I cheerfully examine re-votes as an expression of focused enthusiasm, and multi-votes as broad enthusiasm.

The process is highly unscientific, and is imminently gameable. All is fair in this topic selection business, although I reserve the right to scale up the impact of the most serious citizens (e.g., writer or frequent reviewer), or scale down a bot-like re-voter (fortunately we have none of those),

Prongs I came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.11 - 02:38PM to say:

There are enough post-Hogwarts stories around here, so I vote for #3 or #7 to get a better mix.

ColdFeetWarmHeart came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.13 - 01:50PM to say:

My vote is for no 3
Either in harry's 6th year or 4th year when the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students are there! I think there are quite a few opportunities for funny stories with this one!!
I can't wait to read them and also offer my help as a judge.

CitrusGreenTea came out of the woodwork on 2018.02.24 - 09:52AM to say:

My vote is for #1 or #4 because it would be fun to try and incorporate some of my real life experiences into a H/G story! Also I would be willing to volunteer as a judge for this current contest if you still need some. :)

GHL came out of the woodwork on 2018.03.02 - 01:03PM to say:

Thank you both for the vote and for the judging offer! I will be in contact over e-mail in the next two weeks.